A review of diving accident reports has shown that a majority of diving accidents occurs when a diver is out of contact with his or her diving partner or partners. Therefore, from a safety perspective, the availability of a compact, light weight, easily worn, and highly reliable means of contact between divers can help to greatly reduce the incidence of mishaps and fatalities sustained during underwater recreational activities.
The art includes a number of devices aimed at enhancing communication and navigational abilities for divers. Among such devices are those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,077,703 and 5,185,725.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,077,703 discloses a device that uses microwaves, radio waves, or the like to indicate the direction and distance between a diver and a home base transmitter. The home base transmitter creates a signal of a prescribed frequency. The diver wears the device on his or her wrist, similar to a watch. Upon receipt of the signals, the receiver indicates the direction of the base. The receiver also has a range indicator that will warn the diver when he or she has exceeded a prescribed distance from the home base.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,185,725 discloses an invention wherein a system of locator modules determine the range and bearing of the other modules in the system by sending out acoustic pulses. A diver carries a module that measures the range and bearing of other modules mounted on a boat or other underwater location. A console carried by the diver displays the information.
While the above described devices and others known in the art have desirable capabilities, the present invention affords divers a device having even greater safety features, including alerting the diver(s) when a preselected range limit from other divers in the group is exceeded.